By Tomer Nusinov
At 16, Colin Vineberg is a genuine golf phenomenon.
A junior at St. Paul’s School for Boys in Brooklandville, Vineberg won the PURE Insurance Golf Championship held in Pebble Beach, California, from Sept. 21-26 and aired on the Golf Channel. The Sparks native, who started playing golf at the age of five, beat out 81 teen competitors from across the country.
Among the competitors was Vineberg’s fellow St. Paul’s classmate, Sydnee Gaines.
Vineberg, 16, who became a bar mitzvah at Temple Oheb Shalom, has played golf competitively for eight years. He currently plays for St. Paul’s varsity golf team, and competes individually in tournaments nationally. He has already competed in more than 100 tournaments.
Vineberg recently participated in the Maccabi USA Games’ three-day golf qualifier in Palm Beach, Florida. He was selected there to participate in the 21st Maccabiah Games in Israel in July of 2022
To qualify for the PURE Championship, Vineberg won several smaller tournaments and submitted essays on why he should be selected for the opportunity, which is provided by First Tee, a nonprofit that teaches children life skills through the game of golf.
For the PURE Championship, each teen was paired with a golf professional who competed alongside them. Vineberg was partnered with six-time Professional Golfers’ Association national champion Rocco Mediate.
Vineberg credited Mediate, 58, with mentoring him through the experience and helping him secure the victory.
“One highlight was playing with Rocco Mediate, who took me under his wing and taught me a great deal about the game that I love,” Vineberg said. “Playing with a professional certainly helps my mental game, but it also taught me to really be thankful for the opportunities that golf has given me. I am certainly blessed.”
Outside of school and golf, Vineberg volunteers weekly at the Wellspring of Life Farm in Monkton, where he works with children and veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder with the support of therapeutic horses and canines.
Vineberg’s future plans include playing golf in college and giving back to all of those who helped him along the way.
“Nothing in life is easy, but if you work hard and give it your best shot, sometimes you’ll get that hole-in-one,” he said.
Tomer Nusinov is an editorial staff intern for Jmore.
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